Chapter 3

I still feel messy as I turn around to face him. He doesn’t wear his glasses, they are probably on the nightstand table. His curly dark hair is also a bit ruffled, his brown eyes already staring at me. They still show worries. Yet his mouth. His mouth is curled up in a corner at the sight of me. As if he just saw the most beautiful thing on Earth. Me. I don’t think that’s true, but with him, he makes me feel it. He makes me feel cherished. Loved. “Hey there”, he whispers, making me giggle. “Hi”, I answer. He takes a strand of my hair and tucks it behind my ear. His touch sends a wave of heat through my body. Something he always manages to do. “Are you alright?”, he asks me after a while of silence. I bite my bottom lip. I always do that when I’m nervous. He notices and bites it for me. That’s how he shows me he sees me. All of me. And that he’s there for me. “I am”, I lie. But only half a lie. I really am alright. Better than alright actually. He’s here with me.

“Serena? Serena, can you hear me?”

“Okay”, he replies, trying to seem convinced. But I know he’s not. His eyes still show worries. “Okay…”, he repeats, his voice lower. More fragile. “Then, would you please tell me why you haven’t slept until now?” So he knew. “You knew…”, I whisper, my voice shaking. He nods his head. “Yes….”, he answers, now more nervous as before. “I wanted to ask you, but I almost believed you were sleeping a few times.” “Then how did you figure it out?”, I ask him. I highly consider this guy has superpowers now. “I can feel you, love. I can tell if something isn’t alright. You’ve been tense the entire time.” His voice breaks. And he has to take a deep breath to find the strength to ask: “Why weren’t you sleeping?” My lips start shaking. Traitors. I close my eyes and try to shield myself from his eyes. But not for me. For him. He didn’t deserve this. His hand is now on my thigh, giving it a squeeze. He wants me to know he’s there for me. I open my eyes. “You’ll call me pathetic”, I let out. He is quick to shake his head. “I would never do that, love. No matter what, I would never call you pathetic. Please, tell me what it is. I want to be there for you. With you.” I look at him confused and he nods. He seems to actually mean it. “I’m afraid that if I close my eyes, and when I wake up you won’t be here”, I whisper, my voice giving away how scared I am. I am afraid to wake up and have him gone. Justin looks at me surprised. He then shakes it away and his eyes fill with warmth. “I am always going to be there for you. Here with you. Always”, he answers, taking my hand and curling our fingers together. “Always?”, I ask him, just to hear him say it again so that my heart can understand. “Always”, he repeats, his voice showing he is sure of it. It makes me smile. He smiles too at the view.

“Serena?”, the woman asks again. I take her in. Her blonde hair is all messy, as if she went with her hand through it for a few times. Many of them. She is still in her night gown. Her glasses are on, her blue eyes analyzing me. I didn’t get her eyes, but my father’s. My eyes are brown, not like my mother’s. I close my eyes again. I can’t stand seeing her. I can’t stand being here. I can’t stand living, and I can’t stand waking up. I can’t stand it all. I close my eyes. “Serena?”, my mother asks again. “Are you alright? Did you have another nightmare?” I laugh at that. I can feel Mom flinch, but I laugh at that. The irony. I woke up and the nightmare just began.